Apparatus for producing strandedcable components



May 30, 1961 H. MENKE ETAL 5,

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING STRANDED-CABLE COMPONENTS Filed Feb. 26, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING STRANDED-CABLE COMPONENTS Filed Feb. 26, 1960 May 30, 1961 H. MENKE ET AL 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 30, 1961 H. MENKE ET AL APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING STRANDED-CABLE COMPONENTS Filed Feb. 26, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig. 3a

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING STRANDED-CABLE COMPONENTS Filed Feb. 26, 1960 H. MENKE ETAL May 30, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented May 30, 1961' APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING STRANDED- CABLE COMPONENTS Herbert Menke, Berlin-Spandau, Rudolph Stiicker,

Monchroden, near Coburg, and Fritz Wilke and Wilhelm Wirth, Berlin-Siemensstadt, Germany, assignors to Siemens-Schuckertwerke Aktiengesellschaft, Berlin- Siemensstadt, Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed Feb. 26, 1960, Set. No. 11,366

Claims priority, application Germany Apr. 17, 1959 Claims. (Cl. 57-5852) Our invention relates to methods and means for manufacturing stranded cables and stranded cable-components, such as star-quads and other twisted groups of cable conductors, preferably for communication lines. More particularly, the invention relates to cabling methods and apparatus of the type disclosed in US. application Serial No. 612,160, filed September 26, 1956, now US. Patent 2,956,391, and also known from German Patent 1,038,- 141.

According to the known manufacture of standard cable components, the individual wires or wire groups that constitute the elements to be twisted together on the cabling machine, pass individually from rotatable, stationarily mounted drums or drum yokes over separate capstan pulleys or a common capstan pulley through a stationarily mounted symmetrizing device and thence to the twisting device of the cabling machine where the wires, wire groups or other elements, hereinafter generically called strands, are formed into the desired cable component, whereafter the stranded cable component is wound onto a take-up drum.

Within the symmetrizing device the strands first run individually over dancer rollers whose respective axes are displaceable parallel to the twisting axis. Thereafter the respective elements pass over guide rollers having respective axes. According to the German patent, the working range of the symmetrizing device is automatically controlled by its dancer rollers by whose displacement effects varying the rotating speed of the take-up drum or the pull-off speed at which each element is being supplied by means of the capstan pulley. The control is such that the travel limits of the dancer rollers are not reached during normal operation, or that generally a middle position of the dancer rollers is preferentially maintained. As a rule, only one of the dancers rollers of the symmetrizing is utilized for the above-mentioned control purpose. The displacements of the dancer roller is translated into an electric resistance change which act, upon a magnetic slip clutch to vary the torque of. the take-up drum, thereby adapting the speed of the takeup drum to the pull-off speed of the elements.

It has been found, however, that slight variations in friction during passage of the'stranded elements through the twisting yoke or bail may initiate undesirably great displacement of the dancer roller, which renders the control of the take-up drum speed labile and unreliable.

It is an object of our invention to eliminate such shortcomings and to secure a reliable automatic control operation irrespective of changes in friction or other operating conditions.

To this end, and in accordance with a feature of the invention, the operating speed of the wind-up device is adapted to the entering speed of the elements with the aid of electrical connecting means which, under control by the displacement of the dancer roller in the symmetrizing device, act upon the winding-up device through a speed-change gear transmission of continuously variable transmission ratio. The gear transmission is preferably of a type that can be varied, with respect to its transmission ratio, not only during power transmitting operation but also at standstill.

According to another feature of our invention the continuously variable gear transmission controls the pulling speed of the winding-up device through an electric synchro connection. When using such a synchro connection, advantage can be taken of the possibility to install the continuously variable gear transmission, as well as the synchro transmitter and the main drive motor of the windup device, at a location outside of the cabling machine, preferably in a control and machine cabinet. It is further preferable to drive the capstan pulley or other pull-off means for supplying the cable elements, as well as the twisting device inclusive of its reverse rotation means, through synchro connections. In this case, the synchro-transmitter for the latter purpose may also be accommodated within the control and machine cabinet.

The foregoing and more specific objects, advantages and features of our invention, said features being set forth with particularity in the claims annexed hereto, will be apparent from, and will be mentioned in, the following in conjunction with the embodiments of cabling apparatus according to the invention illustrated by way of example on the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 show schematically a plan view and a lateral view, respectively, of a star-quad cabling machine together with the appertaining electric circuitry.

Figs. 3a and 3b conjointly illustrate another cabling machine with the appertaining electric components, Fig. 3b to be placed at the right of Fig. 30. so as to form a continuation thereof.

Figs. 3a and 3b will hereinafter be jointly referred to as Fig. 3.

The machine according to Figs. 1 and 2 is of the upright type. The individual elements or wires 13 pass from a storage container, rotatably mounted on' a base 131, over respective braking discs 132 to capstan pulleys 18 which are driven to pull the wires fromthe storage containers over the brake discs. From the respective capstan pulleys 18 the wires pass to a symmetrizing device which comprises displaceable dancer rollers 19 and fixed-axis rollers 20. In Fig. 2 only two diagonally opposite roller pairs 19, 20 of the total of four such pairs are illustrated for the sake of clarity. For: the same reason the four symmetrizing devices are omitted in Fig. 1. After passing through the symmetrizing devices all four wires pass into the twisting nipple 133 of a twist ing device. The nipple 133 is mounted on the upper end of a tubular main shaft 134 of the rotating cabling basket 36. After passing through the nipple bore, the four wire elements, now somewhat twisted together, pass sequentially over guide rollers 135 and 136 journalled on the cabling basket 36, thence through a tube 137 also mounted on the basket, and thereafter over guide rollers 138 and 139 from which the wires pass through the bore 140 of a tubular basket shaft 141. From shaft 141 the conductor passes through a second twisting nipple 142 and into a yoke 33 where the wires, now fully intertwisted to a star-quad 143, are wound onto a take-up drum 16 after passing through a winder guide 144 which reciprocates the incoming quad along the drum during the winding operation. The twisting of the wire elements to form the star-quad is effected by rotation of the basket g 36 and thus of the tube l37 about the vertical axis'of' A The twisting takes place in the twisting nipple 133 before the wire elements pass onto 9 the cabling machine.

the guide roller 135, as well as in the twisting nipple 142 on the upper end of the bore 140 in shaft 141 after the wires leave the guide rollers 139 The cabling machine is driven by a drive motor 1 A which acts through an endless belt transmission, comprising sheaves 146 and 147, upon the lower main shaft 148 of the twisting basket 36. The rotation of the lower main shaft 140 is transmitted through spur gears 149, 150, 151 and through a connecting shaft 152 and spur gears 153, 154 to a spur gear 155 mounted on the upper main shaft 134, thus also driving the upper portion of the twisting basket 36 with which the upper main shaft 134 is firmly connected. As apparent from Fig. 2, the connecting shaft 152 and the upper main shaft 134 are journalled in the upper bearing plate 156 of the twisting basket.

A fixed spur gear 157 is mounted on the bearing plate 156 and meshes with a spur gear 161 whose shaft 160 is journalled on the twisting basket 36 and carries another spur gear 162 meshing with a spur gear 159 rigidly secured to the shaft 158 of the yoke 33. By virtue of this gear connection, the yoke 33 remains fixed in space despite the rotation of the twisting basket 36. The bearing 163 for the intermediate shaft 160 is firmly mounted on the upper plate of the twisting basket 36.

Coaxially joined with the connecting shaft 152 is the shaft 164 of a spur-gear speed-change transmission 165 whose output shaft 166 carries a bevel gear 167 which drives through the four capstan pulleys 18 (Figs. 2, 1) of the cabling machine through respective bevel-gear pairs.

Of the four roller pairs 19, 20 in the symmetrizing device, only the one shown at the left in Fig. 2 is used for controlling the rotating speed of the wind-up drum 16 in dependence upon the upward and downward displacements of the dancer roller 19. For this purpose, the vertical displacements of the dancer roller 19, whose shaft is mounted on a bushing 169 vertically displaceable upon a guide rail 170, are transmitted to the slide contact 171 of an electric potentiometer resistor 172. This resistor 172 is connected with another potentiometric resistor 173 in a bridge network appertaining to a magnetronic regulator 174. The regulator operates in'such a manner that the resistance changes of resistor 172 cause a corresponding voltage to be impressed upon a preamplifier 175, this voltage having a direction and polarity depending upon the direction and magnitude of dancerroller displacement. Depending upon the polarity of the input voltage, the amplified output of preamplifier 175 is further amplified by one or the other of two power amplifiers 176, 178 which control respective relays 177 and 179. The contacts 180 of relay 177 and the contacts 181 of relay 179, depending upon which group of contacts is closed at a time, energize a gear control motor 182 of a continuously variable speed-change transmission gearing 183 to run in one or the other direction.

The input shaft of the variable speed gearing 183 carries a sheave driven by an endless belt or chain from a sheave 184 on shaft 166. The output shaft of variablespeed gearing 183 is connected with a synchro transmitter 186. The gear transmission 183 may consist of any continuously variable gearing commercially available for stepless speed control. For example, the transmission may comprise a driven friction disc or cone along which a driven friction gear is displaceable so that the driving radius varies continuously in dependence upon the adjusted position of the driven gear. The particular type of speed change gearing is not essential, it being only essential that, for any position of the dancer-roller axis, the transmission ratio of the speed-change gearing is so set that the synchro transmitter 186 is positively driven at a definite speed whose magnitude and direction depend upon the departure of the dancer-roller axis from a given zero position.

The synchro transmitter 186 is connected with a synchro-receiver motor 188 mounted on the yoke structure 33. The transmitter and the receiver of the synchro tie areinterconnected by stator-connecting leads 192 which necting leads 187 are connected by brushes (not shown) with slip rings 194 mounted on the lower main shaft 148 of the basket 36. Within the yoke 33 the stator leads 195 and the rotor leads 196 are connected to slip rings 197 mounted on the upper end of the tubular shaft 141 which is joined with shaft 148 to form an upward extension thereof and to serve as part of the bearing structure for the yoke 33. The slip rings 197 are connected with the respective slip rings 194 by leads extending through longitudinal bores (not illustrated) in the tubular bearing shaft 141.

The control motor 182, operating in dependence upon the upward and downward displacements of the dancerroller 19, varies the rotating speed of the wind-up drum 16 in such a manner that the wound-up length of the star-quad 143 is continuously kept in accordance with the pulled-01f length of the wire elements 13. For example, when the dancer roller 19 shifts downwardly, the control motor 182 changes the transmission ratio of the speed-change gearing 183 in the sense required to make the wind-up drum 16 rotate at greater speed, thus increasing the length of star-quad taken up by the drum 16 per unit of time so that the dancer roller 19 is again pulled upwardly. As a result, the dancer roller 19 automatically adjusts itself to a given midposition.

If desired, the continuously variable transmission gearing 183 may also be mounted in the wind-up yoke structure 33. In this case the synchro transmitter 186 remains driven from the shaft 166 of the capstan-pulley drive, whereas the synchro receiver 188 drives the variable transmission gearing in mechanical driving connection with the take-up drum, the control motor 182 of the transmission gearing 183 being controlled by the dancer roller 19 of the symmetrizing device in the same manner as described above with reference to Fig. 2.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 3a and 3b, the capstan pulley and the twisting basket are both driven by electric synchro connections. The reference numerals used in Fig. 2 correspond to those of Figs. 1 and 2 wherever corresponding items are involved.

The speed control of take-up drum 16 by means of the continuously variable speed-change gearing 183 is etfected through an electric synchro connection 186, 187, 188 in the same manner as described above with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. However the main motor 145 in Fig. 3 simultaneously drives the synchro transmitters of three difierent synchro connections. The twisting basket 36 is driven by rope sheaves 147, 146 from a synchro tie formed by a synchro transmitter 198, a synchro-receiver motor 200 and interconnecting leads 199. This, too, atfords adjusting the rotating speed of the twisting basket to a definite constant value.

The capstan pulleys 18 receive driving power from a mechanical transmission gearing 165 which is driven from the main motor 145 and operates a synchro transmitter 201 joined by connecting leads 202 with a synchroreceiver motor 203 whose shaft is geared to the capstan pulleys. Thus a constant rotating speed of the pulleys is also secured.

Just as in the case of Figs. 1 and 2, where the wind-up yoke 33 aside from the wind-up drum 16, accommodates only the synchro-receiver motor 188 of the synchro connection between the drum and the continuously variable transmission gearing 183 only the receiver motors of the synchro connections for the twisting basket and for the capstan pulleys according to Fig. 3 are installed at the cabling machine proper. However, the synchro transmitters 186, 198 and 201 of the three synchro connections, the continuously variable transmission gearing 183 are energized at 191 from a three-phase alternating-current line, and by rotor-connecting leads 193. The coninclusive of the gear control motor 182, as well as the electromagnetic regulating device 147, are all mounted in a control and machine cabinet, together with the main drive motor and the transmission gearing 165. The cabinet is indicated in Fig. 3 by a broken-line enclosure 204.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art upon studying this disclosure, that the invention is not limited to the embodiments particularly illustrated and described herein. For example, the stationary or rotatable containers 105 for the cable elements may be substituted by stationary or rotating supply drums. Furthermore, the twisted star-quad, instead of being wound up on the drum 16, can be freely wound into a container in ring or loop form. Any other known pull-ofl devices can be used in lieu of capstan pulleys. The guide pipe 137 may also be given a bent shape adapted to the travel path of the four elements of the star-quad, such as shown for example in the above-mentioned German Patent 1,038,141, so that the guide rollers 135, 136, 138 and 139' can be omitted if desired. When using electric synchro connections, a common synchro transmitter may be used for a plurality of receiver motors. It will further be understood that the invention is analogously applicable to the production of stranded cable components other than mentioned above, for example in the production of DM quads and other intertwisted groups of conductors.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for producing communication cable components from individual conductors, quads, composite group of cable conductors and the like strands, comprising pull means for supplying the respective strands, a twisting device, stationarily mounted symmetrizing devices each having a dancer roller and a fixed-axis guide roller engageable by one of the respective strands and forming jointly a loop path for said strand between said pull means and said twisting device, said dancer roller being displaceable substantially parallel to the twisting axis of said twisting device, take-up means for receiving the cable component from said twisting device, drive means connected with said twisting device and said pull means for driving said pull means in a normally constant speed relation to said twisting device, an electric driving connection joining one of said pull means with said take-up means for driving the latter, a speed-change gear transmission of continuously variable transmission ratio interposed in said driving connection and having transmission-ratio control means, and electric regulator means connecting said control means with one of said dancer rollers for varying said ratio in response to displacement of said dancer roller, whereby the take-up speed of the cable component is continuously adapted to the supply speed of the strands.

2. Apparatus for producing intertwisted cable components from conductor strands, comprising capstan pulleys for supplying the respective strands, said pulleys having a common drive, a twisting device, stationarily mounted symmetrizing devices each having a dancer roller and a fixed-axis guide roller engageable by one of the respective strands and forming jointly a loop path for said strand between one of said respective capstan pulleys and said twisting device, said dancer roller being displaceable substantially parallel to the twisting axis of said twisting device, a winder for receiving the cable component from said twisting device, said capstan drive being connected with said twisting device for driving the latter in a normally constant speed relation to said capstan pulleys, a driving transmission between said capstan drive and said winder for driving said winder, said transmission comprising an electric synchro-connection and a speed-change gearing of a continuously variable transmission ratio, said gearing having a reversible electric control motor for controlling said transmission ratio to thereby vary the winder speed relative to said capstan drive, and electric regulator means connecting said motor with one of said dancer rollers for reversibly controlling said motor to vary said transmission ratio in response to displacement of said dancer roller, whereby the take-up speed of the cable component is continuously adapted to the supply speed of the strands.

3. Apparatus for producing intertwisted cable componentsfrom conductor strands, comprising pull means for supplying the respective strands, a twisting device, stationarily mounted symmetrizing devices each having a dancer roller and a fixed-axis guide roller engageable by one of the respective strands and forming jointly a loop path for said strand between one of said respective pull means and said twisting device, said dancer roller being displaceable substantially parallel to the twisting axis of said twisting device, take-up means for receiving the cable component from said twisting device, drive means connected with said pull means and with said twisting device for driving said twisting device in a normally constant speed relation to said pull means, a speed-change gear transmission of a continuously variable transmission ratio having an input shaft and an output shaft, said drive means being in driving connection with said input shaft, an electric synchro-link having a synchro-transmitter mechanically connected to said output shaft to be driven therefrom and having a synchro-receiver motor electrically connected with said transmitter and in mechanical driving connection with said take-up means, said gear transmission having a reversible transmission-ratio control motor, and electric regulator means connecting said motor with one of said dancer rollers for reversibly controlling said motor to vary said ratio in response to displacement of said dancer roller, whereby the take-up speed of the cable component is continuously adapted to the supply speed of the strands.

4. Cabling apparatus according to claim 3, comprising another electric synchro-link which connects said drive means with said twisting device and has a synchro-transmitter mechanically connected to said drive means and a synchro-receiver motor in mechanical driving connection with said twisting device.

5. Cabling apparatus according to claim 3, comprising another electric synchro-link which connects said drive means with said pull means and has a synchrotransmitter mechanically connected to said drive means and a synchro-receiver motor in mechanical driving connection with said pull means.

6. In cabling apparatus according to claim 2, said synchro-connection comprising a synchro-transmitter me chanically connected with said capstan drive to be driven therefrom and a synchro-receiver motor electrically connected with said transmitter and in mechanical driving connection with said winder through said speed-change gearing.

7. In cabling apparatus according to claim 1, said transmission-ratio control means comprising a reversible motor, and said regulator means comprising an input circuit having a normally balanced resistance network for supplying reversible input voltage depending upon the sense of departure of said network from the balance condition, and said network having a displaceable balance-control member connected with said dancer roller, whereby said motor is controlled in dependence upon said departure to run in the direction required for varying the transmission ratio in the network-balancing sense.

8. In cabling apparatus according to claim 3, said twisting device comprising a rotatable twisting basket and a non-rotatable yoke coaxially mounted within said basket, said take-up means and said synchro-receiver motor being mounted on said yoke, said synchro-transmitter and said gear transmission being stationarily mounted independently of said yoke and basket.

9. Cabling apparatus according to claim 3, comprising two other synchro-links electrically connecting said drive means with said twisting device and said pull means respectively, said twisting device comprising a rotatable basket and a non-rotatable .yoke coaxially within said basket, each of said synchro-links having a synchrotransmitter connected with said drive means to be driven therefrom, said take-up means and said one synchro-receiver motor in driving connection therewith being mounted on said yoke, said other two synchro-links have 7 ing respective synchro-receiver motors in mechanical driving connection with said twisting device and said pull means respectively and being mounted outsideand independently of said basket and yoke.

10. Cabling apparatus according to claim 9, comprising a control unit remote from said pull means, symmetrizing device and twisting device; said drive means comprising a motor mounted in said unit, said speed-change gear transmission and said three synchro-transmitters being also mounted in said unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Van Hook Dec. 11, 1956 Haugwitz Ian. 19, 1960 Demmel et a1. Oct. 18, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany June 19, 1958 Germany Sept. 4, 1958 Germany Apr. 2, 1959 

